About TNW

TNW Sites

New Samsung patent details rollable, foldable phones and tablets

Samsung has toyed with the idea of non-rigid screens in the past. A semi-famous demonstration of the flexible YOUM display showed us that a future of bending, folding or rollable screens may not be just a pipe dream, either.

The first of these designs is the rollable phone. It looks a bit like a scroll, and could prove to be the ultimate compromise in screen size and portability. When rolled, the device forms a tube shape that could contain a relatively large screen without the bulk of, say, an iPhone 6s Plus.

Samsung also notes within the patent that the flexible display could include an OLED or flexible LCD display that replaces glass with a clear plastic film.

The second design features a sort of hinged tab that covers the screen when not in use, but nearly doubles the size of it when opened.

The bendable smartphone illustration shows the device folding over itself at the top. Once closed, it features icons for quick actions, such as using WhatsApp, checking text messages, or as Patently Mobile pointed out, connecting an iPod. Your guess is as good as mine.

It should be noted that these are merely patents and there’s a better than zero chance that they’ll never be touched. That’s said, it’s still cool to get a peak into just what Samsung is thinking the future of mobile devices looks like.